Murder House Madness
by simplysolitaryme
Summary: The Murder House harbors many ghosts including the Harmon family. When a new family moves in, young Violet Harmon finds herself fancying new-to-the-house Tate Langdon. What will happen between the two?
1. Chapter 1

There once was a house that stood in Los Angeles, California. It had a reputation that many would find troubling but tourist love taking The Eternal Darkness Tour to learn its history. You see, this house has a dark past and a nickname to match it; The Murder House.

"Now onto one of our most exciting destinations the infamous Murder House." The tour host says. "There were many unfortunate occurrences ranging from murder suicides to the deranged mind of a doctor with a strange Frankenstein complex." He continued. "The most recent story affiliated with The Murder House is that of the Harmon family. Mrs. Harmon died during child birth and Mr. Harmon and their teenage daughter killed themselves out of depression." His eerie voice enticed a mixture of emotions. Some awed, others shook, and a group of four teenage boys discussed whether the house would be haunted or not. The tour host seemed to hear their query. "As a matter of fact, it is said that Nora Montgomery, the wife of Dr. Montgomery, still roams the halls of the house searching for her baby that was stolen from her." As the group of tourists sat and listened, a petite woman stepped out of her silver car and placed a "For Sale" sign on the property as The Eternal Darkness Tour bus drove away. Many of the patrons still had many questions but kept their mouths shut.

-Three Days Later-

A small family, one that consisted of an older woman, a girl with down syndrome who was in her late thirties early forties, a deformed possibly twenty year old adult, and a teenage boy, was greeted by their realtor, Marcy. "Welcome, welcome." She wore a cheesy smile. "My name is Marcy. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand, her cheeks forcing her eyes to squint. The older woman took it gingerly as she took a drag from her cigarette that was planted in her other hand.

"Hi, I'm Constance." She answered. "These are my kids, Adelaide, Beauregard, and Tate." Marcy nodded at all of them wearing an expression of discomfort. Constance glared at her and flicked her bud into the road. "Feel free to give us the tour of the house at any time." She spoke with a very sophisticated, old southern tone. Marcy simply nodded and pursed her lips. As she gave the new family the tour of the house, Tate wandered around on an adventure of his own; peeking into rooms, sliding through crawl holes, peering through the many windows in the house when he caught a glimpse of something moving around the corner. "Addie?" He called out. As he turned the corner, whatever he seemed to now be pursuing. "Addie." He said once more. He turned into another room and nearly tripped over his kneeling older sister. "Damn it, Addie." He mumbled. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Playing." She said simply. Tate stared a little confused at the empty space in front of Addie. He rolled his eyes and let his sister be, not caring what his sister was doing. He wandered back to his mom and listened to the realtor go on and on. He really started tuning in when Marcy began talking about the history of the house.

"The law requires me to tell you about what has happened in this house." She mentioned. "The family who previously lived in this house died terrible deaths. Mrs. Harmon died during child birth and her husband and daughter killed themselves. Such a tragedy." She shook her head and held a small dog in her hands. "This is Hallie." She indicated as she held up a small dog in her hands. "She's the only surviving member of the Harmon family. I adopted her as my own after the tragedy." She wore a solemn face as she thought about the family. "They were all very pleasant to be around. But the youngest was depressed and upset all the time. I don't think I saw her smile once since I met her. Her mother could be pleasant when she wanted to be. She spoke to me with disrespect often but sometimes she was a delight to be around. The father use to be a psychiatrist. He didn't have many patients though." When she finally finished, Constance lit a match and started puffing on another cigarette. Just before Marcy could protest, Constance blew smoke into her face.

"I'll take it." Constance signed the proper paperwork and the house was hers and her families. But did they know what she was getting her family into? Not one of the neighbors stopped by to share hellos, something that deeply annoyed Constance. She was one of southern hospitality. Manners were a large part of her life. While Constance told the movers exactly where she wanted her furniture, Tate unpacked his boxes. The kids' rooms were the first to be furnished. Constance wants them out of her way so she could get the rest of the house finished.

Beau was given the attic, a dark dusty room with hardly any windows at all to keep him hidden from the world. He wore a collar on his neck with a chain attached to it so he couldn't escape from his room. He could, however, roam about his wide open room in peace. He didn't talk much, mostly because not many people would come close enough to talk to him. But his brother and sister kept him company. Tate acted like his big brother and protected him while Addie read him to sleep at night. Constance would come to see him periodically and hold him and tell him that she loves him.

Addie set up her room like she always did. Like a princess with more yellows than pinks. She hung pictures of models on her walls and smiled at them, so longing to look like they do. It was her life-long want. To be a pretty girl. Her name hung over her bed in fancy font. She walked over to her mirror and sat in front of it, letting her brush slide through her soft hair as she prayed that she'd transform into what she longed for.

Tate stood in his box filled room on the second floor. Dust had collected on the windowsills so he took the sleeve of his sweater and dragged it across the windowsill, ridding it of dust and letting it fall to the floor. As he began putting all of his music and movies onto his bookshelves, he would constantly look over his shoulder. Although he was never one to be paranoid, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was in the room with him. "Seriously, Addie. Go back to your room." He whispered over his shoulder as his bedroom door opened. When no footsteps sounded of someone's retreat, Tate turned to find an empty threshold. Perplexed, he walked to Addie's room and opened it. "Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you leave my room." He chuckled.

"I wasn't in your room." She responded. "But she was." Tate looked around her room. "She's a pretty girl." Addie smiled behind him.

"Awe. Thanks Addie." said a petite teenager behind Tate. Startled, Tate jumped into Addie's room and stared. She was much shorter than him. The top of her head just barely reached his shoulders. Her hair laid pin straight over her shoulders. She wore a long, pale lace dress with a grey sweater.

"How'd you get in here?" Tate asked. For reasons beyond him, she chuckled.

"You know, they say this house is haunted." She stated.

"Whatever. How'd you get in here?"

"Relax. I live in the neighborhood. Just stopped by to say hello." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm Violet." She extended her hand and he took it.

"Tate." He replied. "Your hand's cold."

"Well, you know what they say: cold hands, warm heart." Tate couldn't help but chuckle. "Your hands are warm." He shrugged.

"Wonder what that means." Violet just shrugged and started walking away. "Where're you going?" Tate ran to the threshold and peered down the hall.

"Don't want your mommy dearest to find out her precious son snuck a girl into the house." She chuckled and descended the stairs and out of view.

"She's a pretty girl." Addie said to Tate. He agreed.

"Yeah. Yeah, pretty girl." Tate chuckled and returned to his room and flopped down on his bed. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until Constance came pounding on his door.

"TATE! Come out for dinner!"

"Alright." He said in a bored tone. Though he didn't want to, Tate stood and dragged his feet towards his door and shoved it open. Beau stood in front of him as he opened his door.

"Play." He smiled. Tate chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, buddy. It's dinner time." Beau nodded and took Tate's hand as they walked down the stairs and sat at the table. Tate rolled his eyes as he watched his mother's pathetic attempts at looking richer than they actually were. Setting out expensive dishes with decadent foods on it. He simply sat down and stared in front of him as his family gathered around the table.

"Who wants to say grace?" Constance asked with a smile plastered on her face. Tate just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Addie rolled her eyes as well and Beau asked to play. "After dinner Addie will play with you, Beau." They took each other's hands as Constance spoke. "Let's thank the Lord for this meal and our happy loving family." Tate scoffed and Constance recoiled her hand. "For once, Tate, could you at least pretend that you're part of this family?" He couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"Family? Happy and loving? Ours? I think you're confusing us with your other family." He scooped a spoonful of whatever was in the bowls in front of him onto his plate and ate it quickly so he could leave. Once he finished, he got up and started walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Constance challenged.

"Away from you." He muttered quietly.

"Get back here!"

"No!"

"You're just like your father!" Tate paused.

"I'd rather be like him than a bitch that doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"You think I don't care?"

"No, I know you don't. You chain Beau up in the attic all night, you constantly degrade Addie, and you treat me like shit!"

"You know, Tate, unlike your siblings you were graced with so many gifts. How is it that you can't bring yourself to use them? Just a smile or a kind word could open the gates to Heaven." She said as tears built up in her eyes. That's when he broke. Tears formed in his eyes as he stared at the piece of shit he was forced to call mother.

"No matter how much you want it, I will _never _be your perfect son." He stormed off into his room and locked his door. In a frenzy, he opened his drawer. The bottom of the drawer popped open to reveal a small box with four razors in it and a small bag of white powder. He looked at the items and shook his head, slamming it shut and laying down on his bed to bury his face in his pillow and release his anger. Sometime around midnight, his mind wandered to the next day when he was expected to start school. _Whatever gets me out of this shit hole, _he thought. He drifted off to sleep with his face in his pillow, shirt discarded onto the floor, and covers scrunched at the root of his bed. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, nor did he care at the moment. All he wanted was to run away and find his dad. He wished he'd known better at the time and left with him when he was six.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

An annoying loud beeping noise woke Tate from a dreamless sleep only to present him with a shit filled day of school. Practically smashing his alarm clock, his fist slammed down on the off button and it went crashing to the floor. He buried his head in his pillow and hoped that he didn't wake his mom. He didn't have the patience to deal with her this morning. She always knew exactly how to piss him off the most. He searched through his closet as the cold air in the house licked up his slowly awakening body sending pings of pain through his body. A soft knock sounded at his door.

"You okay?" Addie asked as she rubbed her eyes. Tate quickly slipped his shirt on and walked over to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her back into her room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep, Addie. I'll see you when I get home from school." He whispered tucking her back into bed and leaving quietly. He slinked back into his room and tugged a sweater over his head. Once he was ready, he hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders and stepped outside into the crisp morning air. He sniffled softly and squeezed his eyes shut in hopes that he would wake up from this shitty dream he was convinced he was in and his dad would be sitting at the edge of his bed waking him up for a new day to come. But when he opened his eyes, the iron gates in front of their property stood closed. A quick walk down the street and his bus emerged from around the corner only to stop right in front of Tate.

The bus smelled of leather and body odor making practically everyone, minus a large boy sitting in the front of the bus who was obviously emitting the smell, wrinkle their noses. As Tate spotted an empty seat, he noticed the people around him. While he sat he began assessing them and placing them in their proper cliques. The cheerleaders and jocks all sat together, talking loudly about the upcoming football season in the back of the bus. A group of nerds were discussing the new laptops the school received last week. A few goth kids sat in the middle of the bus with their headphones blaring screamo; incoherent words surrounding and annoying the more gentle kids around them. The last group he noticed was about three guys and two girls dressed in leather jackets, vibrant hair colors, and big jewelry all talking about upcoming band concerts. Some that Tate found a little interesting but weren't worth going to due to other bands that would also be attending.

Once the bus came to a stop in front of the school, everyone exited in a frenzied fashion. Practically stepping over each other and knocking kids smaller than them over. Tate pulled out his schedule to find that he had chemistry first class followed by English, algebra, phys. ed., lunch, art, and journalism. The only class he was excited about was phys. ed. He ran track at his previous school and Westfield High seemed to have a pretty promising track team.

Throughout the day, Tate grew bored with his classes. He knew everything they were teaching so he got in trouble when he wasn't showing much interest. When a teacher called on him for and answer, he chuckled at their annoyed looks when he was correct. Around fourth class, he pulled out his iPod and played some Nirvana to make the day go by faster, which worked to his surprise.

Before he knew it, he was back on the bus staring at the same people as this morning, all with tired look. Except the nerds who were one the last section of their homework for the rest of the week. _It's Monday. What the hell are you going to do for the rest of the week? Not like you're getting laid. _He chuckled to himself at his thoughts. But seriously, why do nerds always want to finish their homework early? It gives them more time to do what? More homework? Tate didn't really understand it. But when he got home and started doing his own homework, he began getting it. It was easy. He ended up finishing three weeks' worth of homework. Not because he didn't have anything better to do. He just didn't want to deal with his mother. Once he figured he was finished acting like a nerd, he walked down the hall to check on Addie.

"Hey, Addie."

"Tate!" She jumped up from her table and gave her brother a big hug. "You've been locked in your room all day. What were you doing in there?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and Tate laughed.

"What's with the suggestiveness in that expression?" He gently pushed her shoulder.

"We're you and Violet hanging out?" She smirked.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday."

"Really? I just saw her a couple of minutes ago. She said you were busy with nerdy homework stuff, I think her expression was." Tate grew confused. How did Violet know he was "going nerd" on his homework? No one came in or left his room while he was in there.

"What are you talking about? She wasn't in my room." Addie smiled with a glint in her eyes.

"Yeah she was." She replied in a sing-songy voice.

"You must not have heard me come in and leave. You were concentrating pretty hard." Tate whipped his head back and he jumped a little.

"Okay, you've really got to stop sneaking up on me like that." Tate said breathlessly. Violet simply chuckled and walked away into Tate's room and sat on his bed. He didn't move, though. Just stood there confused. Addie walked up behind him and gave him a nudge forward out of her room and closed the door behind him. With only one place to go, he entered his room, closed his door behind him, and sat back in his desk chair.

"How did you get in here?" Tate asked.

"The front door." Violet answered slyly.

"Which is locked."

"You lock it yourself?"

"Yes." For some reason, that was not the answer Violet seemed to be looking for. Her cheeks grew slightly pink and her hands clenched around her blue flannel shirt that laid over a floral dress. She stood up and went to leave the room just before Tate captured her wrist. In a flash, Violet grabbed hold of his and tugged his sleeve up to reveal a series of old pink scars on his wrist. Tate recoiled his hands. No one knew about his old habit. Not even Addie and Beau. Especially not Constance.

"What are those?" Tate knew Violet was changing the subject away from how she managed to get into the house, but he didn't care.

"It's none of your fucking business." Tate shoved Violet's sleeve up her arm to find that her wounds were much fresher than his. "And you're one to talk." He spat at her.

"Fine!" If Violet's eyes could shoot lasers, they would have blown Tate's head off. Half expecting her to stomp out of the room, Tate released his grip on Violet's wrist but she didn't leave. She simply shook her head and sat in the middle of the room. "What's your story?" She asked him, obviously annoyed. Her voice was tainted with annoyance, but he followed suit and sat down in front of her.

"Moved from the east coast, father left, mother's a cock sucker, new school, same old shit. Yours."

"Moved from the east coast, dad cheated on my mom, mom was raped, thrown out of school."

Tate cocked his eyebrow. "Where from the east coast?"

"Massachusetts. You?"

"North Carolina." Tate nodded. Violet simply stared at him. "You alright?" She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in because she smiled a little and nodded to his wrist.

"When'd you do that? It looks old." Tate simply chuckled.

"Yeah. I was about, six when my dad left and that's when I did it."

"Why'd he leave?" She seemed genuinely curious which made Tate chuckle.

"He left because my mom's a cock sucker. Literally. She use to go out of town every so often, claiming it was something about a business meeting and he found out that she was sucking some guy off where ever she went. He left me alone with a cock sucker. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" He laughed aloud. Violet just listened. "The world is a filthy place. It's a filthy goddamn horror show. There's so much pain, you know? There's so much." Violet sat, sort of in awe at his words, something Tate didn't really understand. "What about you? Yours look recent." Violet cleared her throat and chuckled.

"Mine's not exactly an interesting story. Just can't stand my parent and all the shit I've been through but that's not something I'd like to share." Tate could understand that. Telling your whole story to some stranger could be weird even though he'd done just that. But he didn't care. He didn't care if people knew about his past. They probably just shared the same views of his mother as he did. That she was a bitch who drove his father away.

"That sucks." He replied. Violet nodded in agreement.

"So what were you slaving over earlier?" She asked.

"Homework." She chuckled at him. "Figured since I know it already I might as well get it out of the way." She seemed to agree thought.

"So you're a nerd?" Tate chuckled. He thought the same thing while he was doing his work.

"No. But I can be an overachiever." A small paused swam across the room as a loud thud sounded from upstairs.

"You know, you're brother misses you. He told me that you don't go see him much anymore."

"You've talked to Beau?"

"Yeah. He cracked open the attic door and asked me to play." She chuckled.

"That sounds like him." Tate smiled up at the ceiling. "Guess I shouldn't keep him waiting, huh? Care to join me?" Once Tate was safely on his feet, he extended his hand towards Violet, which she took with a blush on her cheeks.

"Can't. Should probably be getting home. Don't want the parentals to get all pissy on me." For some reason, Tate didn't want her to leave. The voice in the back of his head told him to trick her into staying longer or something but his mind didn't work fast enough.

"'Kay. See you tomorrow?" He said simply.

"Yes, you will." And she, once again, disappeared down the hallway. Tate just stared in that direction and mentally facepalmed when he realized how pathetic he was.

With a sigh, he made his way to the attic door and pulled it down, climbed the stairs carefully, and caught a little red ball just before it fell through to the floor below them.

"So I hear you've been missing me?" Tate chuckled. A dark shadow crawled out of the darkness and smiled up at Tate and wrapped his arms around his waist. If Beau could stand up properly he could probably measure 5'9". Just a little shorter than Tate. But he couldn't stand up so Tate knelt to his level and hugged him properly. "I'm gonna have to think up some way for you to ask me to come up here if you want me to so you don't miss me too, too much." That seemed to make Beau happy. He started clapping and laughing. "You like that idea." Tate stated, pointing to the other end of the attic. Beau walked and waited for his ball, which only took Tate a millisecond to roll back down to him. "You know where the roof of my room is from up here?" Tate asked. Beau quickly crawled around on floor until he sat down and smiled.

"Here." He said happily. Tate just chuckled as Beau rolled the ball to him.

"Alright, well. If you want me to come up here, just knock three times on the floor. I should be able to hear you." Tate smiled and their continued their game for about an hour until he couldn't avoid the subject any longer. "So you talk to Violet?" He mentioned.

"Yeah." Beau stated. "She nice."

"Yeah, she is. What else have you two talk about?" Beau shook his head.

"Secret." Tate shook his head.

"Hey, I'm your brother. You're not supposed to keep secrets from me." Tate chuckled.

"She made me promise." Tate could understand that. But he still wanted to know. He'd ask him tomorrow. Maybe he'll open up then.

"Dinner time!" Constance's voice rang throughout the house. The mean went similar to how it did the previous night. A small fight, Tate rushing to leave the table, but just as he was about to leave, Constance decided to be a little motherly.

"So how was your first day at school?" She asked.

"Fine." Was all he said.

"Wait, I want to hea—"

"I'm tired. Going to bed." And that's when the conversation ended. He didn't want to get into another fight. He knew if he did he would do something he'd regret in the morning. So he ascended the stairs, discarded his pants and shirt into the corner of his room and crawled under his covers, slipping into the darkness of sleep. But tonight, his dreams were filled with the strange girl who always broke into his house; Violet.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I hope you're all liking it so far for those who are reading.<strong>

**Thank you for the awesome comments I've received. I was so excited when I saw that people are actually reading this story and liking it. :D**

**Thanks, loves.**

**xoxo **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Larry?" Constance called into the night. She snuck from her house around midnight to meet up with an old 'friend'.

"Over here, Constance." A man whispered in the distance and emerged from the darkness. He stood about an inch shorter than she. But she didn't mind. What she saw was a worthless, small, bad excuse for a man. But he had one thing she was slowly running out of. Larry was the man that Constance went on her "business meetings" with. Not that she would ever tell anyone that. At least, not yet. She couldn't deny that she couldn't hide her secret much longer. And frankly, she didn't want to have to hold up with her little charade much longer. Granted Constance was always good at keeping secrets but she needed a cushion. Larry provided a very nice one. But how could she possibly bring such a man into her house?

Larry once owned the Murder House a long while ago until tragedy struck. One day he broke down and told Constance about the whole ordeal. His wife at the time found out about Larry's little love affair on the side of their marriage. She was so heartbroken. But what made matters worse wasn't that Larry was leaving, but because she told her that she should take their two young, beautiful girls with her back to her mother's house. For her to leave her home so Larry could move Constance, another woman and her family, into her house. That's what pushed her over the edge. She lovked herself and her daughters and took their lives with fire. Larry couldn't stand living in that house any longer. So he old it. A few familis owned it before Constance got her hands on it,

"I want to ask you something." Constance grasped the courage she needed. Her family needed someone to support them and Larry would do practically anything for her. Something he told her on many occasions.

"Anything, love." She mentally cringed at the word.

"Would you like to move into my home with my family and I?" She asked.

"I've been waiting for you to ask. Anything you want. You won't have to lie aa finger. I love you."

"I love you too."

-Later that night-

"What?" Tate yelled while at the kitchen table.

"Not Tate, is that really necessary? I love hi-"

"Bullshit."

"I do and I'm tired of being alone. He loves me and that's that! He's moving in this week, so deal with it." She started back. Tate hated the idea. He was never one for taking orders. How did she expect him to react? All loving and accepting? Tate stormed off into his room upstairs, slamming it shut so loudly that he was sure the neighbors five blocks down could head. He didn't care though. Did she not care about what her own kids would thin? None of them even knew that she was involved with anyone, now some strange guy was moving in to play daddy? Tate couldn't wrap his mind around it. Until he thought harder. The whole reason why his dad and his mother split up in the first place was because she was having an affair… What if this was the dame guy? _Great. So the homewrecker that fucked up my family is going tocome live with us. That's just fucking perfect._

"What's up with you?" A voice sounded from his desk chair.

"How the hell so you keep doing that?" He screamed at Violet.

"Hey, no need to take that shit out on me." She paused. "Care to talk about it?" She pressed.

And so he started. Blurting out what he just found out. Making his suspicions sound. Vented about everything he was bottling up without even really meaning to, bet he did, and she just sat there listening to his every word and nodding in agreement. It didn't take long for him to finish and once he did, his face was pink from anger and annoyance. But his voice decreased gradually so his mother wouldn't come in to demand who he was talking to. He didn't want to have to explain how this random teenage chick was breaking into their house to chat and randomly wald around.

"Why don't you just tell her to fuck off? That you make his life a living hell if he moves in?"

"You want to meet her? You'll see how stubborn her ass it." She chuckled.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Besides, she never listens to a word I say. Why would he listen to me now?"

"That's bullshit."

"My words exactly." A few small moments of silence filled his room as he processed his own words. Violet seemed to notice him thinking and decided to say something.

"Is that all that's on your mind?" He thought again for a moment.

"Other than how and why you keep breaking into my house, yeah." She just laughed. Didn't answer his question, just laughed which, for some odd reason, made Tate smile. Violet noticed his smile and granted him with one of her own. "So what's your story?"

"I already told you."

"Yeah, but it was vague."

"So?"

"Curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, yuh know."

"Good thing he has nine lives, then." It seemed like Violet wasn't expecting that response by the expression on her face. Tate merely sat waiting for an answer.

"Aw, come on. I just spewed my entire family story to you. You can at least talk to me about something personal." Violet processed this for a minute. Lightly biting her lip, she twirled the tips of her hair in her fingers.

"A girl I knew and her family died in this house. We were all really close. That's why I keep coming over here. My parents don't know so I'd rather if you didn't go around telling people I come over." She said quietly.

"My lips are sealed." He responded, pretending to lock his lips and throw away the key.

"Her an I were a lot alike. We both like different types of music, we both had similar styles, we both were the outcasts in school, you know, that whole chestnut." Tate nodded. He could relate to bring the odd one out. He went through his entire school career being an outcast. But he was fine with it.

"Thanks." Tate said when Violet stopped talking. She looked as if she was finished sharing stories of her life for the night.

"For what?"

"Opening up." A light blush touched her cheeks.

"You're welcome. Tate made his way over to his bed and took the spot closet to the mysterious girl in his room. They didn't exchanfe much I nconversation. But Violet's attention was on his iPod on his dock and was flipping between Nirvana and Cradle of Filth. She noticed The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance and paused.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"MCR?"

"Hey, I was in a dark place when I downloaded that. Don't knock it."

"I'll knock it all I want." Tate just rolled his eyes and let her think what she wanted. He could sort of relate to the song minus that his father wasn't dead. Another secret his mother kept from him.

Years ago, Constance and her family moved to L.A.. When his monthly business meetings were scheduled Constance knew where he went. But he lied about his business there. At one point in their relationship, Constance began getting paranoid. Paranoid about her husbands' faithfulness so she acted on a whim. She had a strong feeling something was going on and when she found a pair of royal blue lace panties in his suitcase, her suspicions were confirmed. Pawning her children off on one of her friends, she flew out to L.A. and tracked his cell phone to this exact address. She passed the place many times when she took the taxi from the airport to her hotel on her business trips, but never suspected this is where he husband would be. His car stood outside. As she glanced about the front of the house, a struggle caught her eye through on of the many windows. She quietly walked through the front door and spotted a not on the counter.

Hugo,

I left for a bit. Have to get cleaned up before I see you. Make yourself

at home. Moira should be coming by to clean in a few house so don't

be alarmed if you hear someone downstairs and it's not me. My husband's

not due for another day or so. ;)

-Lori

"Lori? That's the slut's name? She gripped the handle of the revolver in her purse and walked quietly upstairs. All she knew was that her family had fallen apart all because her husband couldn't keep it in his pants. Once she reached her destination, she walked through it slowly, staying just in front of it to block the only exit. Her mind raced as she watched her husband tear open this woman's uniform. This wasn't Lori which only increased her anger. She raised the gun and fired a warning shot into the headboard above them, making him stop and turn around in fear.

"What is your name?" She asked with her teeth clenched at the maid laying partially exposed on the bed.

"Please don't kill me."

"Your name."

"Moira O'Hara." And with her name, Constance shot her perfectly through her right eye. Hugo just started in shock.

"Constance, honey, I swear it meant nothing."

"I've loved you since I was sixteen." She said carefully with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Please." He whispered his last breath as she pulled the trigger. Her bullet went through his chest and as he stayed sitting up, she let two more fly until he was laying still as stone. Constance surveyed what she did. Her husband's protesting lover on the floor with her eye and brain blown against the back wall; who wasn't apparently wasn't the 'Lori' he was initially having the affair with; but her maid. The help. Tears started to weld up in her eyes as she looked at her dead husband, unable to believe what she just did. But she did it and there was no changing that. She had to act fast. She had no idea how long with woman was going to take so she had to act quickly. She stripped the bed and wrapped it around the bodies. She walked throughout the house searching for things to use. What she entered the basement, she found a meat grinder and a kennel full of dogs. Which gave her an idea. But she would save that for last. She walked out to the backyard and carefully pulled the grass from the ground with a shovel and began digging. Once she was finished , she was surprised that the whore of the house still hadn't returned. But she was grateful. She ran upstairs and dragged Moira's body down the stairs, leaving behind no trace, and out to the freshly dug grave. Dropping her down it and burying her with the cold dirt, she worked fast. She still had a husband to take care of and it was getting dark. Sticking out of the garage was a tarp. "That'll work nicely." She thought.

Once she finished the grave, she wrapped her husband up in the tarp and dragged him down to the basement. Her hands shook at the thought of cutting him into pieces and feeding his dead body through the grinder. But as she thought about him with two other women, her shaking stopped. She started with his hands. Cutting them with a butcher knife, careful to make sure the blade would slip right between his joints, making her work a little easier. A plop signified that his hand was separate from his body and on the floor. Before she began grinding it, she tested to see how easily the crank was. Grabbing hold of it and turning it she found it was quite simple. She picked up his hand and slipped the gold right that signified their marriage off of his finger and placed it in her pocket. With his fingers facing away from the blade, she cranked the wheel and listened as the bones cracked and were crushed. As the dogs barked beside her, she chuckled.

"Hungry?" She asked the puppies who barked in reply. She cut her husband, keeping one piece of him for last. First his hands, feet, legs, arms, thighs, the torso was tricky but she cut it in small enough pieces so it would fit. Blood sprayed her body, sticking to the fabric of her clothes and the wrinkles of her face. But she didn't care. She placed pieces of her husband into bowls and put them on the tarp. Dogs can be messy. Letting the dogs out one by one to eat up the pieces of her husband. With the last piece sitting next to the grinder, one of the bigger dogs eyed it and she tossed it to him. The dog finished it in practically one bite which made Constance laugh.

With everything cleaned up, Constance put the tarp in the dumpster down the street and went to her hotel to clean up. She wrapped herself up in her coat with a hat and sun glasses so no one would suspect her. Once she was all clean, she slept soundly. Only the sun would wake her.

**Hey guys. Sorry this took me so long to put up. Haha**

**Hope you like the chapter. I'll try to be more speedy with my upload times. :)**

**Thanks for the awesome comments on my previous chapters, by the way.**

**You guys are awesome. xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Thank God it was finally Friday. The week proved to be boring and uneventful. Tate's teachers seemed to take a liking to him, which he wasn't sure if he liked or not. It was only the first week. He would have to test the waters to see what he could get away with. Although, if this whole "no friends" thing continued, Tate could probably finish the homework for the rest of the year. He was always use to being a loner so he honestly didn't mind. What he did mind was the suspicious looks he got from random kids in the library. He ignored them with ease, though. After all, he probably looked a little strange sitting at a table and reading about birds. What could he say? He found them fascinating and he wasn't afraid to admit that.

School went the same as usual for him today. His teachers decided that since it was only the first week of the school year, they wouldn't assign any homework over the weekend. Everyone cheered at the news but Tate simply sat there with an indifferent expression. When the final bell rang, Tate stood up from his chair and made his way to the bus without speaking a word to a single person. He'd grown rather accustom to this routine. Some kids would look at him like he was insane which would just force Tate to smile freakishly at them and wink causing them to lose two shades of color in their face and stare at their feet for the remainder of their walk. Once safely seated on the bus, Tate pulled his iPod out and let music pour into his ears. But, to his confusion, One Direction began blaring in his head. Ripping his ear buds out, he looked at the track and shook his head with a smile on his face and changed it. With the bus finally stopped at his stop, he ran out to race to his house. He knew exactly who the culprit was and hopefully she'd decide to show up today.

"Hey mom, I'm home. Going upstairs to do homework." He didn't let her answer as he sprinted up the stairs and entered his room to find a familiar shape sitting in his desk chair with a smug look on her face.

"Welcome home." Violet managed to say as she stifled a laughing fit.

"You're hilarious. _That's what makes you beautiful!_" He mocked and swayed his hips as he through his bag to the corner of his room which pushed Violet over the edge. She burst out in laughter that shook her whole body and practically made her fall out of the chair.

"Don't ever do that again! I might pass out!" Her arms wrapped around her torso to keep herself together.

"You don't have to worry. That was a onetime deal." Tate chuckled. As he looked up, he noticed Violet's cheeks had grown pinker and a small tear rolled from her eye and stuck to her cheek. Without thinking, he walked over to her and whipped it away with the tips of his fingers, causing her to look up at him. Tate expected more of a reaction. He expected her to storm off or flinch away from him but her cheeks reddened and she smiled at him making a smile of his own manifest on his lips. He cleared his throat and turned. What was he doing? This random chick sneaks into his house at random times of day and he's flirting with her? Well, she was the most interesting person in this town so what harm would it do to do a little flirting? Tate couldn't see a reason not to. You know, besides the whole breaking into his house thing. He'd grown use to it already though.

"So, you think you can take time out of your busy homework schedule to come up to see Beau with me?" Violet suddenly offered.

"Sure. You know, he told me that you two are keeping secrets from me." Tate scrutinized as he led the way out of his room.

"Oh, he did, did he?" She suppressed a smile but her cheeks reddened a little. "Did he tell you our little secret?"

"No, actually. I don't think you realized how much it's torturing me." He looked at her hopeful. "I'm not use to him keeping secrets from me." Hoping that his little flirt might work, Tate looked up at Violet with his dark eyes which contrasted nicely with his light dirty blonde hair that fell scraggly over his face. It seemed to work considering Violet stopped to stare at him, her mouth slightly ajar. "You alright?" He was laughing like a crazy person in his mind. He couldn't believe that she actually reacted to that. Looks like Little Miss Violet was letting some sort of wall down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And as for the secret, you might get to know what it is sooner than you think." She said when she regained her composure. She turned towards the attic door and pulled it down without letting her eyes stray from his as a sultry smirk played on her lips. Tate squint his eyes as she ascended the ladder, watching the sight before him. It took all he had not to test the waters. He figured that would get him a good kick in the balls. Once they reached the attic, Beau bounded over to Tate and hugged his waist.

"Hey, buddy."

"My turn!" Addie laughed as she ran up to Tate.

"Well, hey there. Keeping Beau company?"

"Yeah. Hey Violet." Addie turned her attention to Violet and hugged her tightly.

"Hi, Addie." She chuckled and Beau and Addie ran off to play ball. Violet followed and sat to one side of them, leaving a spot across from her for Tate. The four of them tossed the ball together, joking and laughing.

"Tate!" Constance's voice rang through the house.

"Mom sounds angry." Addie said.

"When does she not sound angry, Addie?" Beau laughed which made a smile show on all of their faces. Tate got up and went back down the latter. When he turned around, Constance was glaring at him.

"Uhh… Hi mom."

"You know how I feel about dishes being left all over the place." Tate stared confused.

"Yeah. Why are you reminding me?"

"You left two cups filled with coffee in the counter and the coffee pot is still on."

"Well, I didn't do it. I don't drink coffee and, if you haven't noticed, I don't have guests over so why would I poor two cups.. You know, this is ridiculous. You know I don't drink coffee. You must have forgotten you made it."

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

"Well, stop sounding stupid." That seemed to shut her up.

"If you do it again, you're grounded." Tate just laughed as she walked away and climbed the stairs.

"What did you do?" Violet asked with a smile.

"Well, according to her, I made a pot of coffee, poured two cups of it, and walked away." He shook his head.

"Addie, I think it's official. Mom is going crazy." Tate laughed.

"Tate, that's not funny." Her face was straight.

"I agree with you. Her going psychotic is a very bad thing." This time, Addie couldn't keep it in. She let a few chuckles spill from her lips.

"That's weird. Why on earth would you do that?" Violet mocked Constance's voice and posture.

"Because I just love pissing you off." Tate smiled.

A few hours later, Beau voice that he was getting a little sleepy so Addie, Violet, and Tate left him to go to bed. Addie wandered off to her own room which allowed Tate and Violet to hide in his. As Tate looked out the window, he couldn't believe how dark it way. Glancing at the clock on his bedside table, he chuckled. "Damn, it's already 11?" Violet's face grew serious.

"I should probably get home." She said.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want your parents stopping by to get you." He chuckled.

"What? Oh, yeah. Right." She smiled.

"Well, maybe you can call them and tell them you'll be a little later." Tate suggested. He didn't want her to leave yet. She was really the only friend he'd made since they moved here and… In all honesty… He really liked having her around.

"No. That's not such a good idea. I'll come back tomorrow. It' the weekend so I can come over early if you want." Her face lit up. Like she was hoping he'd say yes.

"Is that excitement I see there?" As Violet's eyes fell to the floor, she walked closer to Tate. When she was directly in front of him, she looked up. Their lips were so close that Tate could feel her breath on his.

"Maybe." She whispered. Tate smiled and closed the distance between them. Once their lips touched, Violet's small hands slid up his arms and rested on his shoulders. Tate's, on the other hand, slid onto her hips, pulling her closer to feel her body on his. Just as their kiss deepened, a loud bang sounded throughout the house and the power shut off leaving the two of them on each other's arms in pitch-black darkness.

"The fuck was that?" Tate whispered. The two of them stood there listening to the sounds around them. He knew this house was old but they were told that pretty much everything was updated thanks to the previous owners.

"TATE!" Without waiting for anything else, Tate sprang out of Violet's arms and down the hallway to the source of the scream. "TATE!" Addie's voice rang through the house but he could find out where she was.

"Addie! Where are you?"

"In the basement!" Her voice sounded frantic. Tate took the stairs three at a time, which was easy to do since he was training harder to be on the track team. He ran faster than he thought he'd ever ran in his life. But he felt like he was fast enough. Once at the basement door, he threw it open causing it to bounce back and slam behind him.

"Addie?" Tate yelled again. There wasn't any sign of Addie. "Addie?" His voice wavered in the air but there was no respond. All was silent until Tate heard a faint scurry behind him. He spun around to see a small shadow facing him. He could tell it wasn't Addie though. Whatever this thing was, it didn't have much hair, if any at all. A faint grown sounded from it making Tate step back with caution. It's breathing was freakish. Almost like a child's; high pitched and sort of nasally. "Hey. How'd you get in here?" Tate took a step forward to it which was the wrong move. It lurched forward with its' hand raised revealing long, sharp, dirty nails and scratched at Tate's shoulder, shredding that part of his shirt and leaving claw marks on his flesh. "What the-?" Tate didn't stick around to find out. He climbed up the stairs and slammed the basement door shut behind him.

"Tate?" The sound of Addie's sleepy voice startled him do back that an actual scream left his lips and he flew face first into the closed door in front of him.

"Dammit, Addie, you scared the shit out of me." He paused for a moment. "Wait… You weren't in the basement, were you?" Addie looked at him with half closed eyes.

"No. I heard you screaming and I wanted to make sure you were okay. You sounded scared." Tate should his head. "What happened to your shoulder?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing. I must have been dreaming then snagged my shoulder on something. Just… Let's go back to bed." He whispered as they ascended the stairs. Tate tucked Addie back to bed and walked back into his own room. "Sorry about that. Did you hear—" Tate look about the room to find it empty. "Violet?" He whispered. "You there?" He looked in his closet and behind his door and found no one. "Well, damn." Tate huffed. With a quick shower to wash away the day and clean off his new scratches, he pulled on a pair of loose pants and slumped onto his bed with a million thoughts running through his head. Yet, despite everything, even the little pygmy whatever in the basement, his mind wandered to his and Violet's kiss. _Wonder if I get to try that again tomorrow without screwing it up._

** Okay… I have a lot of explaining to do for not updating earlier even after I said I would.**

**But the truth is, I had to reinstall Word onto my computer and I couldn't do that until recently.**

**I hope you all, if anyone continues reading this [Lol], enjoy this chapter. **

**I'll update the next chapter soon and this time I'm not bull shitting you! :D**

**xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_**"Way to go, Charles. Break everything."**_What the fuck?

"_**What have you done to the baby? My baby! No!"**_ HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THAT?

"_**Our baby is upstairs, waiting for you, in the nursery." **_The fu… What is going on? Ma'am? Hello?

"_**Hello, my ba-. Thaddeus? Thadde—Oh…. Oh GOD!"**_AHHH!

Tate shot up in bed, screaming. Even when he stopped, his voice rang through the house when a crack of thunder made him jump out of bed. "What the hell is going on with me?" He whispered, rubbing his eyes and holding his head as he sat down. A small sting on his shoulder made him flinch a little. "Well shit. At least I know that wasn't a dream." _I'm losin' it._

"Hello, stranger." Violet's voice startled him, causing him to stand up and yell again.

"The fuck! Damn it, Violet. You can't keep doing that! You're gonna kill me one of these days!" As he yelled, he charged to Violet and stopped right in front of her. She didn't budge. In fact, she wore a smirk.

"I'm sorry." She pressed a small peck to his lips causing him to forget why he was pissed and freaked out in the first place.

"Well shit. You already know how to calm me down." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Just had a really fucked up dream. This child, baby, thing, I don't even know when the hell it wa-."

"Holy shit, what happened?" Violet's hands sprung to his shoulder where his skin was scratched, red, and irritated. "That looks bad."

"Yeah. Umm, last night did you hear that scream after the power went out?" She paused, like she was thinking about if she should say something or not.

"No." He waited for her to continue. When she didn't Tate sighed.

"Are you sure? Looks to me like you're holding back."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't hear anything last night. All I remember is you running out of the room like a pussy when the light turned out screaming for your sister 'cause you were scared. What, can't perform?" He just stood there. Completely lost. Where the hell did that come from?

"Well fuck. What's up with you?"

"Don't call me a liar."

"I didn't call you a liar. I just said it looks to me like you're keeping something to yourself. "

"Whatever." She started walking away and that's when Tate noticed it. He looked outside to see the rain falling and puddles formed outside.

"Wait… Did you leave last night?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been here?"

"I got here about 20 minutes ago. What are you getting at?" He looked outside once again and turned back towards her. With two large steps, he was back in front of her with his hands cradling her head looking into her eyes.

"You don't have to lie to me you know." His dark eyes reached into her, hoping to find the answers in her head somewhere.

"I'm not lying."

"You have to be. You're dry as a bone."

"Okay, maybe I've been here longer than 20 minutes. So what?" He moved closer. Their chests lightly touching.

"What aren't you telling me?" He pleaded. She seemed to weigh her options.

"I haven't known you long enough to talk about it. Simple as that." He didn't really know what to say to that. He understood. Her eyes started to change. The whites grew pinkish and her iris's became a rich brown color as they began to water. "Simple as that." She whispered once more. Tate's arms snaked around her enclosing her in a hug. Her head laid gently on his bare chest and he could feel a tear slide down his torso.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Listen," he looked down and whipped a tear from her cheek, "no more depressing or weird shit today, alright? We should go out and do something." He suggested.

"Or we could go exploring." She chuckled. Her tears ceased and she walked to the doorway. Tate didn't argue. Anything to keep that pretty face from crying again. He pulled on a white long sleeve shirt and a black and green short sleeve shirt over it and changed into a pair of khaki pants.

"You ready?" She nodded. They took each other's hands, like they've been together for years, and walked down stairs. Violet opened the basement door and descended the stairs. Tate, on the other hand, stood at the top of steps with a worried face. "Umm, why start in the basement?"

"Why not?" She smiled.

"I don't know." Tate hung his head. The last time he was in here, he got scratched by some sort of ancient demonic toddler thing.

"Come on." He didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but damn he hoped she kept doing it. She cocked on of her eyebrows and looked at him with a longing expression. Like, if he did what she asked, he'd be rewarded. And with that, he slowly walked down the stairs. "So. Have you heard what happened down here yet?" She asked, sitting in the middle of the open room. Tate sat in front of her.

"No. I mean, the realtor told us about the family before us, but that was all."

"How much did she tell you?" She seemed alarmed.

"Just that their last names were Harmon, the mom died in child birth and the dad and daughter offed themselves." He looked up alarmed. "I'm sorry. You said you two were friends."

"Yeah. That's all she said?" Tate nodded. "Well, they weren't the only ones who died here. The people who built the place, Dr. Charles Montgomery and his wife Nora-"

"Wait… Charles?"

"Yeah. Mean something to you?"

"No, I just… I don't know. That creepy dream I had last night. A guy named Charles was sewing something together and his wife was furious and crying. She looked scared."

"Dr. Charles Montgomery built this house. In here, in this basement, Charles was a doctor to the stars but he was also a drug addict and his wife, Nora, was about to let that get in the way of his lifestyle so she set up a little secret side business. He would take care of girls who didn't want to be in trouble anymore. This went on and on until one day, one girl couldn't keep the secret to herself and she told her boyfriend what happened…."

"_**Montgomery residence, you shouldn't be calling at this hour." Nora says into the phone.**_

"_**An eye for an eye." Said a sinister voice. **_

"_**Who is this?"**_

"_**A tooth for a tooth."**_

"_**I won't tolerate this nonsense any longer unless you—"The other person hung up. "Charles, I just had the most peculiar conversation." Charles just sat there; his face pale, his eyes wide, and his mind very off in a distant place. It suddenly dawned on her. She quickly dropped the phone and, before it could even touch the ground, she was half way up the stairs running to the nursery. "Charles? Oh my God. Charles? Charles!"**_

"…The boyfriend wanted revenge so he kidnapped Charles and Nora's baby. Terrified, the doctor and his wife waited for the ransom demands…"

"_**This is your fault, Charles." A knock sounded at the door. **_

"_**What is the meaning of this?" Charles asked as he answered it only to find two police officers standing in front of him holding a cardboard box with the word "Evidence" on the side of it. When one of the police officers took the lid off of it there was a grizzly sight to be found. Numerous jars were in it. Each one filled to the top with different parts of their baby. **_

"_**Charles? What is it, Charles?" Nora asked, stepping closer to the box trying to see what the contents were.**_

"_**Ma'am, there's no need for you to see this." The other officer said as he stepped into the house stopping her from moving any closer to the box. **_

"…Driven insane with grief, the doctor used all of his experience and surgical skills to try and cheat death…"

"_**I wanna bury our son in this." Nora said with tears streaming down her face entering the basement where Charles was working. Her arms held a long, lace dress of sort. A frail little gown it seemed. When she got closer, she could finally see what her husband was working on. "Charles?" He held a small baby arm and hand in his gloved grasp. At the wrist, there seemed to be stitched holding the two pieces together. "What are you doing? What have you done to our baby?" A new wave of sobs and tears shook threw her body but it seemed as if Charles didn't even notice her presence.**_

"…But what he created was ungodly and monstrous and even after their tragic end, that thing remained down here to this day." Tate stared in confusion.

"Bullshit." He didn't believe in ghost stories. But this story freaked him out. Just last night he was attacked by an ungodly and monstrous thing. "How do you know all of this?"

"This is the Murder House. Haven't you seen the Eternal Darkness Tour Bus out and about?"

"The Eternal Darkness Tour Bus? No… Sounds weird."

"You should check it out tomorrow. I can't come by anyway. Parents want me to stay in." She chuckled to herself. Almost like she remembered an inside joke on the subject.

"Okay, any other creepy stories about the house?"

"Oh, plenty. It would take me weeks to tell you all of them."

"I'm looking forward to it." A small blush formed on her cheeks. "Well, start with any story you wish." Violet nodded and thought for a moment. Just then, a loud bang made them turn their heads to the stairs. Tate led the way, one: because he didn't want someone or something so come out and hurt Violet and two: he didn't want his back to the basement in fear that creepy demon thing would show up again. When the front door opened, Constance's voice rang through the house.

"Tate! Come down here, I need your help." He rolled his eyes and turned towards Violet.

"I'll be right back, just stay down here, okay?" She nodded. "Promise?"

"Promise." A small peck to his lips sealed that promise and he let the door close behind him.

"What?"

"Oh, there you are, dear. Could you help Larry carry his desk upstairs in the office? You won't have to help with anything else. Just that one thing. The movers should be here any minute."

"The why don't you just wait for them?"

"Because it's raining, it's a wooden desk, and it's the only thing in his car." He rolled his eyes and tugged on the jacket he usually kept by the door and walked out into the rain with is hood up. Without speaking to the man who was now going to be living with them, much to Tate's dislike, he helped him get his desk settled in the room at the other end of the hallway from his bedroom.

"Thank you, Tate. I really appreciate it."

"Sure, sure. Whatever."

"Hey, Tate?" Tate stopped and turned around, glaring at Larry. "I know you don't want me around. Just know that I'm not trying to replace your father. No man could do that. But maybe we can start off being friends?"

"Sure. Whatever you say, Lawrence." With a swift turn on his heels, Tate turned and jogged down the hallway, took the steps two at a time, and stopped in front of his mom.

"Thank you." _That's all I'm helping with. I know what you're doing. I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. Anyone with eyes can see that you just want him around for his money. We're severely losing that thanks to you being jobless and never getting off your ass to do anything. But I'm going to let that shit slide mainly because you're going to stay off my back and I know you are because you wouldn't want me to go around making his life a living hell now would you? _Tate thought. He decided against it, though. He didn't want to start anything. He just wanted to return to the basement and hang out with Violet, which is exactly what he did after muttering an emotionless "you're welcome" to Constance.

"Okay, I'm back."

"Ooh. Nice strong man did that quickly." She mocked.

"Aw, you noticed." He chuckled flexing his arms, chest, and abdomen. In truth, Tate had a generally muscular body. For someone who was trying to get on the track team, he needed to be strong and fast and thanks to training, his body was ready for it. Violet's eyes lingered for a moment until Tate cleared his throat. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"Maybe some other time." Violet started back up the stairs.

"Where are we going now?"

"Up to your room, of course." She chuckled and bolted. Tate didn't have any idea how she did it, but by the time Tate reached the stairs, Violet was already up them and running down the corridor.

"Damn, you're fast." He whispered to himself. Taking the steps two at a time, he found the attic door open. He ran up it to find her hiding behind Beau and Addie. He closed the door behind him and smiled. Violet had a sinister expression on her face as she leaned down and whispered in their ears. He braced himself for whatever was coming next. That's when it happened.

"PLAY!" Beau yelled and both he and Addie ran towards him, their hands outstretch in front of them and tackled him to the ground cause him to writhe and laugh aloud at their tickling fingers.

"YOU ARE SO SCREWED FOR THIS!" Tate yelled. Violet, however, was on the floor laughing hysterically.

"Play! Play!" Addie and Beau kept a steady chorus in the air.

"Oh, damn, stop! Please?" Tate pleaded. "I can't breathe. I can't… breathe!" His face turned red. When the tickling finally stopped, dragged himself over to Violet and placed his head on her stomach. "Thanks for trying to make my brother and sister try to kill me." He said breathlessly.

"Any time." She chuckled. Once he finally had control over his heart rate, Tate crawled on top of Violet, straddling her. With his hands firmly on her waist, she grabbed his wrists. "Oh no, please, Tate. Don't. I beg you." She smiled. He leaned down so his lips were just over hers.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" She chuckled and just before he began his attack, Violet spoke.

"Do you really want your mom or that one dude to hear me laughing?" She had a point. But there was more than one way to get his revenge.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

**Muahahaha! Yeah, leaving this at a suggestive cliff hanger.**

**Don't fret though. There'll be another update within the next week or so.**

**I hope you like the chapter. Thanks to those who are sticking with me and still reading. **

**xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

To Tate's annoyance, she was right. The last thing he wanted was for Lawrence or his mother to come up and see what all noise was about. With a sigh, he crawled off of her. He didn't want to tease her in front of his brother and sister. That would just bee too awkward for words. There's always later. He thought. Always later. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs as he glanced down at Violet. How is she so beautiful? His mind wander. As she sat up, Tate watched. Everything caught his eye. The way her hair flowed over her shoulders like a silk curtain. How her clothes ripped along her back and sides, shifting to fit around her slight curves. How her legs crossed in front of her and her hands pushed her closer to him so she could wrap them around the arm closest to him and lay her head gently on his shoulder. His eyes didn't miss a thing. With a soft chuckle, Tate gently laid his head on hers as they sat and watched Addie and Beau play together. Every so often they'd hear the footsteps of Constance or Lawrence underneath them but they never bothered the playing sibling or Violet. They were all out of the way so there was nothing to complain about. Shockingly. Usually Constance would find something but she was apparently keeping her mouth shut.

"What else should we do today?" Tate's voice broke the silence. Violet looked up and checked on his shoulder. Small spots of blood shown through shirt.

"Well, we should probably clean that up." Tate glanced at it.

"It's still bleeding?" He pondered. He was generally a fast healer. The scars on his wrist were proof of that. Even one of the deeper ones he managed to make started healing in an hour or two. These must have been deeper than he thought. "Okay. I'll grab my kit." As they exited the attic, Addie remaining to play with Beau, Violet quietly and stealthily made her way to Tate's bedroom. He, on the other had, walked to his bathroom and grabbed a small white box from behind the mirror. Once he closed it, two little figures darted from the doorway behind him. What the-. He made his way to the door and glanced up and down the hallway. Empty. "I know I didn't imagine that." He whispered to himself. Shaking his head, he made his way back to his room. "I swear, I'm losin' it." He mentioned to Violet who was spinning in his chair at his desk.

"Why do you say that?" She stopped and stared at him with curious eyes.

"I closed the door to my cabinet and I was two kids run past. Didn't hear any footsteps. Didn't see anything when I looked down the hall, but I know I saw them." Tate rubbed his temples as he tossed the box on to his bed and sat down next to it; elbows on his knees and eyes closed. He heard Violet stand from her chair and walk towards him.

"Hey." She whispered. "You're not going crazy." She said reassuringly. "Whether you want to believe it or not, there are ghosts here. Lots of them. All with their own depressing, twisted, demented stories." She seemed so sure of this, it made him uneasy.

"Sure." He rolled his eyes. Ghost stories were stupid to him, but this house was starting to change his mind. He wasn't going to completely give in, though. Not completely. But it was a possibility he would keep in the back of his mind. "Then what's the story about the two kids?" He wondered. Violet just shook her head.

"Another day." She said quietly as she started pulling his shirts up, revealing his white skin. She tossed them to the side and gently ran her cold hands around his wounds. His skin reacted by producing goosebumps down his arms and back. He handed her the little white box and let her go to work.

"How did this happen again? I don't think you told me." With a small piece of cloth, she started dabbing at the blood that was smeared around the scratches to clean them.

"You know, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you. Hell, I hardly believe it myself."

"Try me." She challenged and with a sigh, he started.

"Well, you know last night when the power went out? I thought I heard Addie screaming my name in the basement. I ran down there but she wasn't there but I saw this child-like thing. It was just sort of standing there." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Anyway, I moved closer to it, trying to get a better look and it jumped on me and scratched me. Tore a whole in my shirt and everything. I don't know what it was or where it went but I know it was something." Welp, if that didn't make her run, point, and laugh at him, he didn't know what would. He sounded like a lunatic. Her hands paused for a moment and he heard her whisper something that sounded like Adus. "What?" He glanced back.

"Nothing. I was just thinking aloud. How good of a look did you get at it. Might have just been an animal or something."

"Nah, it was short, stood on two legs, had actual hands and breathed like a kid with asthma. It didn't have much hair. Kind of like an old persons. Like it was thinning or something. I don't know, it was really dark."

"That's weird. We could always go look for it. Maybe it's still in the house."

"Noooo. No. No. I'm- I'm good. I'd rather just pretend that I was dreaming and I scratched myself."

"Someone afraid of a little child?" He snickered.

"Yes. And I'm not afraid to admit it. This hurts." Glancing back down to his shoulder, he saw just how deep the gashes wore. "Shit." He whispered. "I think I might need stitches." With a huff, he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Violet wrapped her hand around his wrist to stop him.

"I'm gonna go show this to my mom. She'll take me to the doctors to get it stitched up."

"I could do it." She offered.

"No offense, but I think I want a professional to do it. I don't want it to get infected or anything. Especially since I need to stay in shape for track." Violet nodded.

"I'll be right back. Stay here and don't mess with it." Tate nodded and watched as Violet disappeared. His ears strained to hear her and he heard the faint sound of the front door opening and closing. After waiting for what seemed like an hour, but really it was only twenty minutes, he heard the door open and close again. There was another set of footsteps along with Violet's light, graceful ones. "Knock, knock." She said as she swung the door open. Behind her was a tall, muscular man. One that sort of gave Tate's ego a punch. Who is this dick head? Tate thought. "This is Patrick, my... neighbor." It seemed like she was trying to think of the right word to say. Almost like she was covering something up.

"Neighbor?" Tate thought. He'd never see this guy before.

"Hey." The tall blonde said as he extended his hand before him. Tate shook it; his grip firm. Patrick's eyes brightened at the contact and his eyes smoldered. "Nice to meet you..." His voice lingered.

"Tate." Quick and strong.

"Tate." Patrick repeated with a smile. "Good name. I like it." Uhhh... What is this guy doing?"

"Umm. Thanks." Tate's hand fell to his side and he fiddled with his pant leg, suddenly feeling exposed. "Uhh, what are you doing here, exactly?" His eyes darted to Violet's.

"He's an EMT. I figured he'd do a better job stitching you up."

"And from the looks of it, you're going to need quite a few. What, did a dog attack you or something?"

"No, uhh. I don't know what did." Tate didn't feel like sharing the story again especially to a stranger. Violet didn't seem to think he was crazy but this guy sure would. He didn't want to make a name for himself in the neighborhood. Even though Tate seriously doubted that this guys lived around here. Seriously, where did he come from? Patrick set a bag down on Tate's bed and he pulled the chair in front of Tate's desk closer to them, motioning for Tate to take a seat.

"Just take a deep breath. I'll finish this quickly. It'll pinch a bit but it shouldn't hurt too much." Violet sat in front of Tate on the floor and put her chin on his knees as she looked up at him. Tate didn't feel anything at first other than a rough cloth being dragged over the scratches, but then the pinching started. He took in a shark breath, his hands clenching the fabric that laid over his knees and his eyes closed as he focused on something else. Violet's cold hands started rubbing soft circles on Tate wrists causing his fingers to loosen and hers to slip thought the spaces. Patrick's hands moved quickly as he promised. Tate's posture soon relaxed as his shoulder became numb to the sting. As silence rang through the room, multiple things sped through Tate's mind. What exactly scratched him? What else could be in the basement? Who were the kids he saw in the hallway? Who screamed his name when the power went out? But one soon came to the forefront out of all his thoughts.

"So, how do you to know each other?" Sure, they were neighbors, but Tate didn't hang out with any of his neighbors, let alone know them well enough to ask one of them to come stitch up a wound on their friends shoulder.

"I told you. He's my neighbor." Violet stated.

"Yeah, I caught that bit but you know him well enough to ask him to come over to some strange persons house to clean up a cut? A house that apparently has a reputation?"

"Hey, not everyone is as antisocial as you."

"Says the girl who never goes outside and sneaks into my house."

"Whatever." Violet stood up, pulling her hands away from Tate's so quickly it took a moment for the movement to register.

"Hey, hey. Stop it." Patrick interjected. Violet paused, glaring at him as she crossed her arms over her chest; her safety mechanism. "Her dad's a psychiatrist and on more than one occasion, one of his patients would go a little deranged and I would come over to patch him up, okay? We're all friends here." Though his excuse, Patrick finished stitching up Tate. "There you go." Another couple of dabs with a cloth and he was done. "All finished." Violet turned the other way while Patrick gathered his things and made his way to the door.

"Thank you." Tate muttered, his eyes fixed on Violets defensive form.

"You're welcome."

"Try to be quiet. My mom's sucks and would probably flip if she saw you in the house." Patrick nodded and made his way down the hallway. Tate couldn't hear any footsteps beyond that point. He thought about peering out of the window to check and make sure he made it out, but Violet's pissed expression kept him grounded.

"You got anything else to say?" Violet snapped.

"That depends. You going to continue keeping secrets or biting my head off every time I ask a simple question?" A light knock on the front door cause both of their heads to turn.

"Tate! Get the door!" Constance's voice rang through the house.

"You get it!"

"Damn it, Tate! Get the door or your grounded!"

"Seriously?" He whispered to himself. "Fine!" Without looking back at Violet he muttered, "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." As he made his way down the stairs, pulling a black shirt on as another soft knock sounded through the house. "I'll be right there!" He called. After unlocking the three locks his mother added to the two that were already present when they moved in, Tate's eyes widened. A young women wearing a sexy maids outfit stood in front of him. Her skin was like porcelain, her lips soft and pink, her hair up and deep red. "Umm. Hi. May I help you?" Tate stammered a little, her appearance taking him off guard.

"Yeah. Is your mom or dad home, big boy?" Her eyebrow cocked up as she looked him up and down.

"My mom's upstairs but she's kind of busy right now." Tate started fidgeting with his pant leg. "May I take a message?"

"Just let her know that Moira stopped by. I'm a maid, I come with the house. I'll run over the details with her tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay. What's your phone number so I can have her call you when she's not busy." Tate picked up a pad and pen by the phone and wrote her name down.

"I don't have a phone. But I'll come back tomorrow at this time."

"Okay. I'll let her know." He made sure to keep his eyes on hers. Though he wouldn't deny, he was tempted to look her over. He's a guy after all. But he did have morals.

"Alright. You do that." With a wink, she walked away from the house, swaying her hips seductively. Yeah, yeah, he looked. Is it really such a surprise? He just won't touch. Returning the notepad to its spot, Tate made his way upstairs once again to find Violet standing in the same spot. She hadn't moved an inch. Her face still held that pissed expression and her arms were still firmly crossed. "Hey." Tate muttered as he closed the door behind him. Her eyes darted to his then back to the floor. "Okayyy." His voice lingered. What else could he do? He wasn't going to apologize. He was just curious. It's her own fault that she got all pissy. Tate sat on his bed and put his hands together; silence.

"I'm gonna go."

"Why?" Tate whispered.

"I don't need a reason."

"You know, if you're just going to keep walking off every time we get in a tiff, what's the point in even bringing things up?" It annoyed Tate that he couldn't ask simple questions without her tearing his balls off.

"Don't worry about it. I'll stop bringing shit up from now on." Her cheeks turned read as she made her way to his door.

"Will you stop?" He said, standing and catching her arm before she could turn the handle. "Will you stop running away from me?" Shockingly, she didn't yank her arm away or yell at him. But she did sniffle. Why was she crying? He pulled her closed, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Hey, you never have to apologize for crying."

"Not just for that." Tate caught on.

"Hey. Don't worry about it." They stood in silence for a long while. Violet's arms found their way around Tate's neck while Tate's snaked around her waist. Tears continued to fall from her eyes while they began to sway to unheard music. While they were off in their own world, neither of them heard the footsteps from down the hall until it was too late. Tate's bedroom door swung open with force, bouncing against his wall. Tate stepped in front of Violet as a burst of cold air blew in his face. "What the hell?" His eyes widened as he looked through the empty threshold. "What was tha-?" He turned to find no one. "Violet?" He whispered. Looking around his room, nothing was touched so she wasn't hiding anywhere. "Violet." He said louder. "There's no one here. Where'd you go?" He asked. He knew she didn't go out the door and there was no other way out of the room. Another cold chill went up his spine. "Seriously, Violet, this isn't funny." He looked in his closed, behind his door, under his bed; nothing. "Violet, come on."

"Hello, Tate." A deep voice sounded from behind him. Tate spun around just as his door closed once again and back met it, the man's hands were gripping his shirt, holding him in place. "I'm going to say this once. Just once. You touch her," he paused, "and I'll kill you."

"What? Who are you?!" The man pulled Tate away from the door and tossed him to the other side of his room. He shook, legitimately scared of this guy. "What do you want?" Tate turned back to face him, but he was gone. He sat wide eyed, scooting backwards into a corner of his room and hugging his legs. What the fuck is going on? Who was that? What is he talking about? Where's Violet? Did he get her or something? What is going on with this house?! Questions. Non-stop questions swam through his head. Tears now flowed freely down his cheeks. "Where did you go?" He whispered to the air. Again, no response. At that moment, Tate's door handle started jiggling. Someone was trying to get in. Panic rose in his chest and he pushed himself as far into the corner as he could, his sobs more prominent now. As the door swung open, Tate covered his face and screamed as a pair of hands touched his shoulders.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, everyone!<strong>

**I really hope you like this chapter. I know its been a while. A long while since I last updated and I apologize. Thankfully, I can post now! So expect more chapters because there's plenty more to come. :)**

**-Kel**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tate didn't want to look up. Couldn't. He was so petrified that it could the that guy again or something else entirely. It wasn't until the hands that were planted firmly on his shoulders started to rub circles on his collar bones did he finally look up.

"Tate, what's wrong?" Addie's voice was like a warm hug as she stared at him in confusion. Tate shook his head and let his sister comfort him. There wasn't much else that he could do. All he knew was that he was breaking. There was something going on here. What exactly, he had no idea and he didn't know where to start. Addie sat down next to him and whispered kind things. Addie was the sweetest person in the world. He wanted everyone to know that, but his mother thought something completely different. She was a burden to her. To her family. As was Beau. She claimed she loved them all but she only did when it was conveniant for her. He hated it.

With her comforting embrace, Tate's exhaustion must have caught up to him because he drifted off to sleep. Not something he particularly wanted to do, but it happened. When he awoke the next day, he was covered up in his bed while Addie was asleep in his chair. Before he said anything, he rubbed his eyes with his blanket to rid them of the sleep and dried tears that stuck there. Once he was sitting up, he gently woke up Addie.

"Hey, Addie. You didn't have to stay in here all night." She smiled and yawned.

"You asked me to. You said you were scared." He didn't remember saying any of them. She smiled at him. "It's okay. i don't mind. The house felt funny last night anyways." He cocked his head to the side.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know. It didn't feel calm like it usually does. It was a little scary." He nodded. So it wasn't just him.

"I thought I was the only one." Addie shook her head.

"Violet said sorry, by the way. She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry and that he's going to talk to him." His ear purked.

"Him who?"

"The guy that yelled at you. She said that was her dad. He came to look for her last night and was really angry." Tate's eyes widened.

"Oh shit." Running his hands through his hair, he huffed. "Well I made one hell of a first impression." Tate looked around and remembered what Violet said earlier the day before. That she wouldn't be able to come over today. "Looks like I'm going to have to occupy myself today. I'm going to go for a run, okay? You should go lay down for a couple more hours. I'll see you later." Addie nodded and shuffled back into her room after closing his door.

He found his jogging outfit and changed into it quickly. He was still on edge and he only noticed that when he went to grab his iPod. His hands were still shaking and the memories flashed through his mind. Shaking them off as best as he could, he pushed his earbuds in his ears and made his way out of the house. He decided to absentmindedly jog around until his lungs hurt from the cold air which shockingly took longer than he thought. He kept an eye on the neighbors as he ran trying to paint a mental picture in case Violet decided to bring any more friends to his house claiming they live near. It's not like he doubted her or thought that she was a liar. It was just that this town was weird. This house was strange. It was changing the way he thought of things and made him paranoid. Just being outside running cleared his head and allowed him to think of everything that happened. From when Violet first started showing up in the house to when the pygmy thing scratched him. He decided it was time to ask some questions. But that's only if Violet would be able to hang around him at all. Whoever that guy was that threatened him, he was quick and strong. Someone he didn't really want to mess with.

Tate's lungs started to burn and he'd lapped the neighborhood for the last time before entering the warm house again which was eerily quiet. He expected to hear Beau and Addie laughing and playing, but there wasn't a sound. As he closed and latched the door behind him, he noticed the note on the side table scratched over the one he'd taken for that one maid chick.

Tate,

We'll be back later.

-Mom

He crumbled the note and threw it in the corner as he jogged up the stairs to clean up. Once in his room, he pealed off his sweaty shirt and pants, grabbed a fresh towel, and made his way to the bathroom down the hall. No one was around so he didn't see the harm in walked around the house bare. Apart from the slight cold chill he received as he closed the door, all was comfortable. He turned on the water full blast and stepped in letting it ripple down his throbbing muscles. Steam rose from his body as the warm water touched his cold porcelain skin filling the air around him. His hair stuck to the back of his neck as he grabbed the shampoo, squirting a small amount directly into his hair. The blonde color darkened as it dripped wet with suds.

Once his hair was rid of soap, Tate sat in his tub and let the water rain around him. He couldn't understand why people preferred large houses. They were so spacious and you could never tell what was going on his other rooms. And in his place, that was a definite concern.

Once he felt he was finished soaking, Tate dried off and wrapped his towel around his waist and walked back to his room. His safe place in chaos. When he got there, a familiar person was sitting in his chair.

"I thought you weren't able to hang out today." He said to Violet whose cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"I'm n-not." She stammered slightly. "I just wanted to apologize for last night."

"Yeah, that was your dad, right? " Tate sat on his bed opposite Violet.

"Yup." Tate's eyes widened. He ran his fingers through his damp, knotted hair.

"How did he get in here? Hell, how did he know where you'd be?"

"He has this creepy way of just knowing and also has mastered the art of popping up out of fucking nowhere." Her voice grew slightly louder as if she was saying that to provoke him.

"Is he around now or something?" Tate's voice grew a little nervous. The last thing he needed was the guy accusing him of something while he was sitting in his room, on his bed, in nothing but a towel.

"Nah. I don't think so anyway. I should probably get going." Violet stood and made her way to the door just before Tate's hand lightly gripped her wrist.

"Can I tell you something? And you not laugh at me?" Tate kept his eyes away from hers as he spoke. Violet turned around and nodded.

"Could you please stay a little longer until my family and Larry gets home?" His eyes stayed on their hands as he spoke while Violet tried to look into them.

"Why?" She squeezed his hand and move closer to him.

"I'm scared to be here alone." He whispered. "I know it sounds really silly and I know I said I don't believe in ghosts or whatever but I don't know. I keep seeing things; hearing things. I think I'm losing it, Violet." Tate's eyes grew warm as he finally voiced his fears to someone. "That thing I saw in the basement, I think I had a dream about it. When you told me that story about the Montgomery family, it was like I already knew what was going to happen because I had a dream about it the night before and when I told you about the demon thing you whispered something like "Thaddeus" and that was the name of the thing in my dream. That can't be coincidence, right?" He could feel the panic rise in his throat and everything he was saying sounded absolutely insane now that he was saying it out loud instead of in his head. "I'm really scared, Violet, and I really don't want to be alone right now."

Violet listened carefully as Tate spoke, careful with her expressions. "Maybe you're just tired." She finally said. Something that he really didn't expect to hear from her. He glanced up in confusion.

"Tired?" His hand dropped from hers. "Fine. Go ahead and go. You know, I didn't get tell you that so you could come up with that stupid ass conclusion. I'm actually looking for a bit of help. Some kind of support. I just told you that I think I'm going crazy and that's all you've got? No story that works with what I've said? Nothing? Not even, "Sure. I'll stay until you're not scared." Just that b.s.? Thanks, Violet." Why he got angry, he didn't know, but he was. He just wanted to sit with someone that didn't make him feel terrified. But whatever. He had other ways to deal.

Violet scoffed and walk out of his room. He could hear the front door open and slam shut once again. That was it, though. This was why he didn't ask for anything. Why he didn't ask for help from people. Because what good would they do when he had the thing that actually took all of his pain away. After he put on a pair of sweat pants and a shirt, Tate grabbed his little box and locked his door and shut himself off from the world.

He sat on the floor in a child's pose. His little baggie sat off to the side as he got everything ready. A little bit of powder poured in front of him. He straightened the line with his old student ID. He held his straw at the beginning of the line and placed the other side just under his nose. The cold plastic brought back memories. Chills started to roll their way up his back as the fear set in. Not because he was afraid of getting caught but afraid of what was in the house. Before he took a breath, Tate closed his eyes. Would he see more if he did this? He pulled back. Would they get worse? How could it get worse? What would he see if he saw anything at all?

Pause.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Fuck it."


End file.
